Monday, November 24, 2008

Well, at least if you assume that Fletcher did this on his own, without consulting with Burke. Which seems like a foolish assumption to me, even though that's the angle the media seems to be running with.

I don't know much about Stempniak so I'll resist the urge to annoyingly declare a "winner" in thie deal before any of the players even have time to get on an airplane. But my initial reaction is that any forward who has been scoring at a point-a-game pace can probably crack the Leafs' first two lines.

Steen has a boatload of talent, but for whatever reason it just wasn't happening for him in Toronto. Maybe a fresh start will wake him up. That means he could be yet another Steve Sullivan/Kyle Wellwood story, but so be it. There's no reason to hang on to a depreciating asset just to prevent anyone else from mining any value out of it.

I'm genuinely happy for Colaiacovo. Last month I wrote a post about my hope that the Leafs would trade him. I think he got a raw deal in Toronto, both due to bad luck on the injury front and Ron Wilson deciding to make an example out of him. That's the way it goes sometimes, but I'm happy to see him get a fresh start. I really hope he succeeds in St. Louis.

This may turn out to be a very one-sided trade. I liked Carlos but you can't count on a guy that can't seem to keep himself in the line up for even 20 straight games. His injury problems weren't just with the Leafs but also when he was assigned to the Marlies.

As for Steen. I never could figure out what people saw in him. He occasionally showed some life but most times he exhibited not enough speed, hustle, muscle or scoring. His biggest asset was a swelled head likely because his father was a former NHL star. I'm guessing his attitude won't be missed in the dressing room. But maybe a change in scenery will do him good.